ALICE / RESTORED HERITAGE(IES)

This exhibition presents, in the form of short films and for the first time in France, two virtual reconstructions of major buildings from Brussels' architectural heritage. Produced between 2015 and 2023 by the ALICE laboratory at the La Cambre Horta Faculty of Architecture, these reconstructions are the fruit of a combination of in-depth historical studies, research based on the analysis of heterogeneous archives and the use of the latest digital technologies.

The first of these short films is devoted to the Maison du Peuple, built between 1896 and 1898 by the famous architect Victor Horta. Now defunct, the Maison du Peuple is surprisingly little known about its original state - particularly in terms of its structural system, its materials and colours, and even its different spaces and certain aspects of their distribution. Disgraced after the Second World War and subsequently demolished in 1965, the Maison du Peuple is now considered to be one of Victor Horta's major works, created at the height of the Art Nouveau movement.

The second short film reveals the interiors of the Palais Stoclet, built between 1905 and 1911. A masterpiece of the Austrian architect Josef Hoffmann, this prestigious building illustrates the concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art) developed at the beginning of the 20th century. The Palais Stoclet is inextricably linked to its exterior and interior decoration, its furniture, its everyday objects and its gardens. The interior was designed in collaboration with major Symbolist artists such as Gustav Klimt, Fernand Khnopff and George Minne. This building, with its geometric lines, was revolutionary at the time of the meandering Art Nouveau movement, and heralded the era of Art Deco. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2009 and uninhabited for over twenty years, the Palais Stoclet has strangely never opened its doors to the general public.

The exhibition is open from 24 May to 29 June 2025, on Saturdays and Sundays from 11am to 6pm.
At BEEB, 109 chemin de l'église 39210 Frontenay.
Admission free.

This exhibition was supported by the Direction Régionale des Affaires Culturelles de Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, the Conseil Régional de l'Ordre des Architectes Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, the Communauté de communes Bresse Haute Seille and the Faculté d'Architecture La Cambre Horta of the Université Libre de Bruxelles.